Mapleleaf Viburnum
Viburnum acerifolium
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Mapleleaf viburnum grows across the eastern to central US. Its native range includes New Brunswick to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, south to Florida and Texas. It prefers partial shade and moist, acidic, well-drained soils.
Fruit: A 8-9 mm long, ovoid, dark blue or bluish black drupe. They ripen from August to October and may persist into winter.
Flowers: A 1/4" creamy-white flower arranged in flat-topped panicles up to 3" across. They bloom from April to June.
Uses: Mapleleaf viburnum is sometimes used as an ornamental shrub. The fruit can be eaten or made into a jam.
Ethnobotany: Native Americans and early colonists used mapleleaf viburnum to treat illnesses like malaria and smallpox. A poultice made from the leaves was used to relieve pain. A tea made from the inner bark was used to treat colic and cramps. The root bark was used as a diaphoretic and a tonic.
Importance to wildlife: The fruit is eaten by songbirds, grouse, wild turkeys, and squirrels. The twigs and leaves are eaten by white-tailed deer.
The full mapleleaf viburnum plant. Mapleleaf viburnum is a shrub and usually found in colonies.
The bark of a mapleleaf viburnum. Bark is gray and slightly rough.
The fruit of a mapleleaf viburnum. Fruits are dark blue or bluish black, without a bloom.
The terminal bud of a mapleleaf viburnum.
The leaves and arrangement of a mapleleaf viburnum. Leaves are 2-5" long, dull to medium green, maple-like with 3 lobes, and hairy on the underside. They have a simple, opposite arrangement.
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